Looking back at the earliest days of AIDS in the Sault, Part 1

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:

Beginning of the AIDS Crisis In 1981, California healthcare providers reported the first known case of what would later be called AIDS — Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

By 1985, Sault Ste. Marie was very aware of the AIDS crisis, with cases increasing rapidly around the world. As anxiety began to spike, rumours spread about dozens of local cases; doctors took to the media, reassuring the public that this was incorrect and there were no local diagnoses.

They also hurried to reassure the public that they would not contract AIDS by donating blood or by receiving the measles vaccination — a particular concern as measles cases rose. In 1986, according to the Medical Officer of Health Dr. Butler-Jones, only one person in Algoma was carrying the AIDS antibody – in other words, HIV positive but not showing symptoms of AIDS.

There were local calls for compassion – including one letter to the editor published in the Sault Star that criticized the anti-gay response to AIDS and instead advocated for acceptance: ―I‘m sure each one of us knows a homosexual person who is in the closet. ‘He or she could be a respected coworker, neighbour, friend, or family member for whom we care, but who has to hide his or her sexual identity from us because of fear of rejection and suspicion resulting from ignorance and misunderstanding.

That letter received backlash, with numerous letters to the editor and reader comments accusing the writer of ―doublethink or misunderstanding scripture.

As 1987 wore on and HIV/AIDS infections increased around the world, the focus locally turned to education. Sault Ste. Marie‘s Board of Education approved a recommendation to incorporate AIDS information into their high school Family Life and Human Sexuality class.

Similarly, the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops began work on guidelines for how AIDS information should be taught in Catholic schools; while there was some controversy over how some methods of prevention, like condoms, should be addressed, the bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie told the Sault Star that it couldn't be ignored.

Algoma Health Unit set up a hotline to deal with AIDS-related inquiries, and the Group Health Centre noted a spike in people requesting their informational resources.

In February of 1987, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library was host to an AIDS public forum, with a panel of speakers that included doctors, nurses, public health officials, lawyers, and education officials.

Approximately 225 members of the public were in attendance, and the message they heard was grim, concerning the high mortality rate, the cost to the healthcare system, and the importance of not moralizing or placing blame.

A year later, a second AIDS awareness panel would be held at the library, including a public information session, panel discussion, and screening of a Dr. David Suzuki documentary on the topic of AIDS. That second event was attended by a disappointing total of only 30 people, which public health officials attributed to the public being fatigued by AIDS information: ―Maybe they‘re sick and tired of the facts. 

In August of 1987, Algoma Public Health confirmed that three men in Sault Ste. Marie had tested positive for AIDS antibodies and were considered ―carriers of the virus – a now-outdated, offensive term that referred to people who had contracted HIV but were not showing symptoms of AIDS.

One of the men, an inmate of the McNabb Street jail, stepped forward to describe his unfair treatment: ―I‘m being treated like I‘m very contagious by the guards and the inmates, he told Judge Wayne Cohen, describing how guards were wearing rubber gloves, making him wash everything with a strong concentration of bleach, and keeping him in isolation.

In 1989, another prisoner at the jail came forward with similar allegations: according to the Sault Star, ―he was left alone in a cell 24 hours a day in a section of the jail where schizophrenic prisoners were held and was constantly subjected to demeaning procedures purportedly to prevent the spread of the disease, including bleaching the shower after using it and photocopying paperwork he completed so that no one had to touch paper he had handled.

Two weeks later, Algoma Public Health announced that they had confirmed their first AIDS case – not just someone who was HIV positive but someone showing symptoms and receiving treatment for AIDS.

With the confirmation of AIDS in the Sault Ste. Marie area came additional concerns – the balance of protecting patients‘ private health information with ensuring that at-risk people were notified.

Even the media was caught in the dilemma of how to report, with the Sault Star saying, ―residents of this city are now faced with the real danger of exposure to this terrible disease. This is no reason for panic.

Over the final months of 1987, two more patients were diagnosed with AIDS. According to David Donevan, with the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, ―AIDS touches issues very important to us – mortality, sexuality and compassion, before encouraging people not to discriminate or scapegoat.

However, that hardly stopped people – including medical professionals – from stigmatizing some populations.

A VON director was quoted in the Sault Star as blaming closeted bisexual men specifically for the spread of HIV. Similarly, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Charles Eaid recommended against ear piercing and tattoos as a precaution, saying, ―At this point it‘s a good sensible precaution. 

In a later article, he elaborated, ―At the risk of being discriminatory, homosexual cases are prone to tattooing. With so much that was still unknown, both medical professionals and families were constantly learning about all aspects of AIDS and searching for ways to combat it while trying to provide the necessary support to those impacted by AIDS.

Be sure to check out next week’s article for the ongoing journey to support those with AIDS.

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here